Located in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, the Office of the Chief State's Attorney is responsible for the statewide administrative functions of the Division of Criminal Justice.

In addition to budget, personnel and other administrative functions, the Office of the Chief State's Attorney includes specialized units for the investigation and prosecution of certain criminal matters and for representing the state in appellate and other legal matters.

KEVIN T. KANE is the seventh person to hold the title of Chief State’s Attorney since the position was established in 1973. His appointment by the Criminal Justice Commission was effective September 5, 2006; he was reappointed in July 2011.

As Chief State's Attorney, Mr. Kane is the administrative head of the Division of Criminal Justice, the independent agency of the executive branch of state government that is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters in the State of Connecticut.

The Division includes the offices of the State’s Attorney for each of the thirteen Judicial Districts in the State of Connecticut and the Office of the Chief State's Attorney in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

Attorney Kane joined the Division of Criminal Justice as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the former 9th Circuit in Middletown in August 1972 and was promoted to Prosecuting Attorney in the fall of 1973. He transferred to the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in November 1978 where he served as the Unit Chief of the former Special Investigations Unit.

In 1986 he transferred to the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New London. He was promoted to Senior Assistant State’s Attorney in 1988 and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney in 1990.

He was appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission as State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New London effective January 4, 1995, and served as State’s Attorney until he assumed the position of Chief State’s Attorney.

Chief State's Attorney Kane earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

The Chief State's Attorney's Office operates the following specialized bureaus:

Appellate Bureau

The Appellate Bureau is responsible for representing the State of Connecticut in the vast majority of appeals challenging criminal convictions. This bureau, which employs approximately twenty-five prosecutors, prepares written legal arguments (briefs) and presentations (oral argument) before the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Connecticut Appellate Court.

In any given year, the Bureau will have some 800 separate cases pending before the state's appeals courts and another dozen before the United States Supreme Court. Among these cases are appeals of the convictions of those sentenced to death in Connecticut.

The centralization of appellate litigation in a single bureau serving the entire State permits prosecutors to become appellate specialists. These attorneys track development and trends throughout the state's trial courts, and also conduct important research for the Chief State's Attorney on criminal justice issues and training.

Asset Forfeiture Bureau/Nuisance Abatement

The Asset Forfeiture Bureau was established to take full advantage of state and federal laws that allow the government to seize money, property or other assets used in the furtherance of illegal drug trafficking. This bureau brings civil litigation (sues) convicted drug dealers and traffickers seeking to have their assets turned over to the state. Through the cooperative efforts of police departments throughout Connecticut, this bureau self-funds many of its activities and personnel costs.

Another important function of this Bureau is collecting the bail bonds forfeited in criminal cases where a defendant who has been released on bond does not appear in court. In the state's 2002-2003 fiscal year, the Bureau's work in this area resulted in nearly $4 million being deposited into the state's General Fund, from which state government is funded.

The Nuisance Abatement Program was created within the Asset Forfeiture Bureau to carry out the Nuisance Abatement and Quality of Life Act enacted by the Connecticut General Assembly. This law allows prosecutors to sue in civil court to close down a business or take other action to "clean up" properties with a pattern of criminal activity. Activities that can subject a business or other property to a Nuisance Abatement lawsuit include drug dealing, prostitution, illegal gambling, or liquor law violations. The law allows prosecutors to bring an action if three arrests have occurred, or three arrest warrants are issued, for criminal activity on the property within the one-year period before the action is filed.

The Civil Litigation Bureau is primarily responsible for state and federal habeas corpus actions in which a convict challenges the lawfulness of his or her criminal conviction in a civil court action. The Civil Litigation Bureau also is responsible for responding to civil subpoenas of investigative and other records of the Division of Criminal Justice or seeking injunctive or declaratory relief.

Statewide Prosecution Bureau

The Statewide Prosecution Bureau is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of "white collar" and other financial crimes, including government corruption. Program areas include crimes involving financial abuse or exploitation of the elderly, criminal violations of the environmental protection laws, government corruption and other offenses against public integrity and other crimes involving a financial aspect.

Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes fraud and abuse, including physical abuse and neglect of patients, in facilities that receive funding from Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that pays health care expenses for low-income individuals.

The Cold Case/Shooting Task Force Bureau is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of violent crime. The Bureau includes the Shooting Task Forces and Cold Case Units, which investigate and prosecute serious crimes that have gone "cold," or unsolved for a long period of time. The cases assigned to this Unit typically include unsolved murders, some of which took place decades ago. The Unit works closely with the Connecticut State Police, municipal police departments, and nationally recognized forensics experts, utilizing the latest technology to solve these crimes.

The LeRoy Brown, Jr. and Karen Clarke Witness Protection Program is also operated under the Violent Crimes Bureau. This statewide program operates in cooperation with he State's Attorneys and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to identify and protect witnesses in criminal proceedings where there is evidence of substantial danger that the witness may suffer from intimidation or retaliatory violence. The unit was formally created in 1999 with the enactment of Public Act 99-240, which established the Leroy Brown, Jr. and Karen Clarke Witness Protection Program.

Through a variety of means, tailored to the individual circumstances presented by each witness, the Witness Protection Unit coordinates protection both to protect their safety and the interest of justice. Services can include temporary relocation, semi-permanent relocation in or outside of Connecticut and police protection. The Unit provides some form of assistance to approximately 200 individuals each year.

Workers' Compensation Fraud Control Unit

The Workers' Compensation Fraud Control Unit has two primary goals: the prosecution of fraud against the Workers' Compensation system, which compensates workers who are injured on the job, and public awareness of the problem of Workers' Compensation fraud.